Rotary sprinkler, including impact absorbing means



Jan. 22, 1957 w; E. DUDLEY 2,773,681

ROTARY SPRINKLER, INCLUD ING IMPACT ABSORBING MEANS 'Filed'Jan. 4, 1954 FIG-1 FIG-4 INVEN TOR.

WRAY E. DUDLEY ATTORNEYS ROTARY SPRINKLER, INCLUDING IMPACT ABORBING MEANS Troy, Ohio, assignor to The Skinner Wray E. Dudley,

a corporation of Ohio Irrigation Company, Troy, Ohio,

Application January 4, 1954, Serial No. 402,073 Claims. (Cl. 299 -69) This invention relates to sprinklers and more particularly to sprinklers for irrigating purposes which incorporate a rotary nozzle construction.

The invention has special relation to rotary sprinklers of the impact type wherein the nozzle is advanced or rotated with a step-by-step motion by the driving action of an impact device in cooperation with a spring. and-a driving jet discharged from the sprinkler head. More specifically, an impact arm is mounted for oscillating movement with respect to the sprinkler body and is provided with a spring and deflector device arranged in such relation with the driving jet that the jet periodically strikes the deflector and causes the arm to rotate against the spring until the spring is sufiiciently tensed to check the movement of the arm and then to cause it to swing back in the opposite direction. The return movement of the impact arm under the force of the spring. is stopped by impact of the arm with a portion of the sprinkler body in such manner that the resulting shock causes the sprinkler body to rotate a few degrees before the jet again causes the arm to move against the spring.

This driving action continues so long as the water supply to the sprinkler is turned on, and the rate of rotation of the sprinkler depends upon the extent of angular movement of the sprinkler body produced by each impact, which may be varied by adjustment of the tension of the driving spring. It is apparent, however, that these driving conditions may impose a considerable load on the sprinkler and its supporting structure, since not only must they absorb the rotational forces and thrust arising from rotation of the sprinkler head, but the shock of the driving impact and also the rotational and thrust loads of the impact arm must similarly be absorbed by the sprinkler head. There must also be considered the fact that sprinklers are commonly exposed to relative extremes of weather and service conditions including sudden subjection to the flow of cold water after standing idle in the hot sun, wind and attendant sand or like abrasives carried thereby, and so forth.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a rotary sprinkler of the impact type as outlined above which is of specialconst'ruction for the purpose of minimizing possible disadvantageous effects thereon of the impact type of operation while at the same time having all the desired advantages of simplicity, ready adjustment of the speed of rotation, and freedom from maintenance requirements.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a rotary sprinkler which incorporates an impact absorbing member on the sprinkler body for directly receiving the driving impact of the impact arm with minimum shock or possible damage to the sprinkler body, and in which this impact absorbing member can be both adjusted on the sprinkler body to compensate for wear thereof and also may alternatively be quickly and'easily replaced if desired.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a ro- 'ice tary sprinkler as outlined above in which possible wearing conditions between the impact arm and the sprinkler body are. minimized by arrangement of the impact arm and its driving spring in such balanced relation that the spring tends to lift the arm away from the sprinkler body during. the major. portion of its oscillating stroke and thus to reduce the bearing load on the sprinkler body.

Additional objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description, the accompanyingv drawing and the appended claims.

In the drawing- Fig. 1 is a view partly in side elevation and partlybroken away in section showing. a rotary sprinkler assembly constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line. 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3- is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing the mounting arrangement for the driving spring on. the sprinkler of Fig. 1, the view being partly in side elevation and partly broken away in section; and

Fig. 5- is a top view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 4-.

Referring to the drawing, which illustrates a preferred embodiment of the invention, the sprinkler assembly includes a rotary sprinkler body 10 constructed for mounting on the upper end of a suitablestandard or supply pipe 11, and the sprinkler body incorporates a main nozzle 12 and a driving nozzle 13 arranged on opposite sides thereof. The mounting for the sprinkler body is shown as including a bearing member 15 and an adapter 16, and preferred results are obtained with these parts constructed in cooperating relation to form a sand-proof bearing as disclosed in my copending applicationSerial No. 402,072, filed of even date herewith and assigned to the same assignee as this application.

The impact arm 20 is mounted for oscillating movement with respect to the sprinkler body 10 by means of a stud 21 fixed in the sprinkler body in coaxial relation with the rotational axis of the body and supporting a sleeve portion 22 of the impact arm. A thrust washer 23 supports the lower end of the impact arm on the sprinkler body, and a similar thrust washer 24 is located between the upper end of sleeve 22 and the terminal cap 25 for adjusting the torsion spring 30 which drives the impact arm in clockwise direction as viewed from above. The lower end of spring 30 is secured in the web portions 31 which reinforce the connection of the sleeve 22 to the impact arm and its counterweight portion 33. The cap 25 is shown as releasably secured to stud 21 by means of a cotter pin 35, and the tension of the spring is readily adjusted as desired by temporary removal of pin 35 and appropriate rotation of cap 25.

The impact arm 29 carries at its forward end a deflector 40 which is shown as of essentially the same configuration as described in Coles Patent 2,586,517, issued February 19, 1952, to the assignee of this application. The deflector 40 is pivoted on a stud 41 depending from the impact arm, and its pivotal movement is limited by a depending fin portion 42 of the arm which overhangs the outer end of the deflector and engages in a recess 43 therein. The deflector 4t cooperates in operation with the driving jet discharged from nozzle 13 to cause the impact arm 20 to swing in counterclockwise direction against spring 30, and for preferred results, this deflector is formed of an abrasion resistant still" but still yieldable material to minimize possible damage from sand or like abrasives which may be present in the water, satisfactory results from this standpoint having been obtained with the deflector molded from the synthetic rubber material known as neoprene.

The impact arm 20 includes a depending boss portion 24 which forms the impact face overhanging the driving nozzle 13. The member on nozzle 13 for receiving the blow of impact face 44 is a sleeve 45 of tough resilient material capable of withstanding multiple blows by part 44 with minimum wear while also providing a cushioning angle against shock to the nozzle. Satisfactory results from all of these standpoints have been obtained with the sleeve 44 formed of a plastic material such as molded nylon or rubber of similar properties. In addition, the impact sleeve 45 is readily adjustable on nozzle 13 to compensate for such wear or possible flattening as may occur. This adjustment is provided for by mounting the sleeve 45 on the cylindrical portion 46 of the nozzle 13, which has a hexagonal outer portion facilitating tightening into the sprinkler body, and satisfactory results have been obtained with these parts of such dimensions that the sleeve 45 may be rotated on the nozzle without requiring loosening of the nozzle.

In operation, as is described in detail in the above noted Coles patent, each time the impact arm carried the deflector 40 into the driving jet from the nozzle 13, the force of the jet striking the deflector causes the arm to swing in counterclockwise direction with resultant tightening of spring 30. As soon as the spring force overcomes and stops the movement of the arm, the arm swings back again under the driving force of the spring until the impact face 44 strikes the impact member 45 to produce the desired step-by-step rotation of the sprinkler head. It will be apparent that with the impact face 44 lying in a substantially vertical plane as shown and overhanging the sleeve 45, each blow is delivered along essentially line contact and in a direction passing through the central axis of the driving nozzle at substantially 90 to the vertical, and the driving shock is therefore transmitted to the sprinkler body with minimum angular components. As a result, there are minimum tendencies toward side thrusts on the sprinkler mounting which might ultimately cause sufficient wear to produce wobbling rather than continued rotation on a substantially true vertical axis.

Additional reduction in the overall wear load on the sprinkler assembly is obtained by proper proportioning of the weight of the impact arm with respect to the force of the driving spring 30 to produce an essentially balanced condition when the parts are at rest. Under these conditions, when the impact arm swings away from the driving nozzle under the driving force of the jet, the resultant winding of spring 30 will also shorten the spring axially by a sufficient amount to tend to lift the impact arm away from the sprinkler body and thus to reduce the load on the thrust washer 23. This result is further facilitated by arrangement of all the rotating parts in coaxial relation as shown, since with all the parts thus in balance, there is minimum opportunity for the possible development of forces tending to create side thrusts on any of the parts.

While the form of device herein described constitutes a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to this precise form of device, and that changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A rotary sprinkler comprising a sprinkler body, a driving nozzle projecting from said sprinkler body for discharging a driving jet, an impact arm mounted on said sprinkler body for rotational movement with respect thereto, a deflector carried by said aim for movement into the path of said driving jet to cause said arm to swing in one direction away from said nozzle, a spring connected with said arm and said body for causing said arm to swing in the opposite direction toward said nozzle, means on said arm forming an impact face overhanging said driving nozzle for impact with an intermediate portion thereof under the driving force of said spring to rotate said body with a step-by-step movement, a sleeve of wear-resisting material carried on said nozzle in overlying relation with said intermediate portion thereof to cushion said impact between said nozzle and said irnpact face, and means forming a releasable connection between said sleeve and said nozzle providing for rotation of said sleeve about the axis of said nozzle to present a fresh portion thereof for engagement by said impact face.

2. A rotary sprinkler comprising a sprinkler body, means supporting said sprinkler body for rotation about a substantially vertical axis, a driving nozzle projecting from said sprinkler body for discharging a driving jet, an impact arm mounted on said sprinkler body for rotational movement with respect thereto, a deflector carried by said arm for movement into the path of said driving jet to cause said arm to swing in one direction away from said nozzle, a spring connected with said arm and said body for causing said arm to swing in the opposite direction toward said nozzle, means on said arm forming an impact face engageable with an intermediate portion of said driving nozzle in a substantially vertical plane for impact thereon with substantially line contact under the driving force of said spring, a sleeve of tough and resilient plastic material carried on said intermediate portion of said nozzle in position to receive said impact face directly thereon and to cushion the impact of said impact face, and means securing said sleeve to said nozzle providing for rotation of said sleeve on said nozzle to present a fresh portion thereof for engagement by said impact face.

3. A rotary sprinkler comprising a sprinkler body, a driving nozzle outlet projecting from said sprinkler body for discharging a driving jet, an impact arm mounted on said "sprinkler body for rotational movement with respect thereto, a deflector carried by said arm for movement into the path of said driving jet to cause said arm to swing in one direction away from said nozzle, a spring connected with said arm and said body for causing said arm to swing in the opposite direction toward said nozzle, a nozzle member mounted in said driving nozzle outlet and including an exposed cylindrical portion terminating in an enlarged shoulder, means on said arm forming an impact face located for impact with said cylindrical portion of said nozzle member under the driving force of said spring to rotate said body with a step-by-step movement, a sleeve of wear-resisting non-metallic material received over said cylindrical portion of said nozzle member for cushioning engagement between said nozzle member and said impact face, the inner diameter of said sleeve being greater than the outer diameter of said cylindrical portion of said nozzle member but less than the outer diameter of said shoulder and said outlet for retention therebetween while being rotatable on said nozzle for presentation of fresh portions thereof for engagement by said impact face, and means forming a releasable connection between said nozzle member and said outlet for removal and replacement of said nozzle member and said sleeve.

4. A rotary sprinkler comprising a sprinkler body, means forming a rotatable mounting for said sprinkler body, means carried by said sprinkler body for discharging a driving jet, an impact arm mounted on said sprinkler body for rotational movement with respect thereto, a deflector carried by said arm for movement into the path of said driving jet to cause said arm to swing in one direction away from said jet, a spring connected with said arm and said body for causing said arm to swing in the opposite direction toward said jet, means on said arm forming "an impact face, means forming an abutment projecting from said sprinkler body for impact by said impact face under the driving force of said spring to cause rotation of said body on said mounting with a step-by-step movement, said abutment being located in fixed relation with said jet to stop said spring-caused movement of said arm with said deflector positioned to intercept said jet for deflection thereby of said arm against said spring, a sleeve of wear-resisting material encircling said abutment to cushion the impact thereon of said impact face, and means forming an enlarged head portion on said abutment overhanging the outer end of said sleeve and out of the path of said imp-act face to retain said sleeve in position on said abutment.

5. A rotary sprinkler comprising a sprinkler body, means forming a rotatable mounting for said sprinkler body, means carried by said sprinkler body for discharging a driving jet, an impact arm mounted on said sprinkler body for rotational movement with respect thereto, a deflector carried by said arm for movement into the path of said driving jet to cause said arm to swing in one direction away from said jet, a spring connected with said arm and said body for causing said arm to swing in the opposite direction toward said jet, means on said arm forming an impact face, means forming an abutment projecting from said sprinkler body for impact by said impact face under the driving force of said spring to cause rotation of said body on said mounting with a step-by-step movement, said abutment being located in fixed relation with said jet to stop said spring-caused movement of said arm with said deflector positioned to intercept said jet for deflection thereby of said arm against said spring, a sleeve of Wear-resisting material encircling said abutment to cushion the impact thereon of said impact face and of said diameter as to be readily rotatable thereon, and means forming an enlarged head portion on said abutment overhanging the outer end of said sleeve and out of the path of said impact face to retain said sleeve in position on said abutment preventing direct cont-act therewith by said impact face.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Unger Jan. 13, 1953 

